75 Years Ago In May
The tranquil lake.
The steep wall.
Möhne Dam
The Schwerte Memorial Plate
Operation Chastise
was an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by The Royal Airforce, subsequently publicised as the "Dam Busters", using a purpose-built "bouncing bom" developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee Dam were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder Valley; the Sore Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians drowned.
